Norris Reservoir Land Management Plan Reevaluation for the Recognition of Deeded Access Rights

Summary
TVA prepared an environmental report to consider the effects of recognizing the existing deeded landrights of adjoining landowners with respect to access to three TVA reservoirs. TVA proposes to modify the existing Guntersville, Norris, and Pickwick reservoirs Land Management Plans (LMP) by allowing allocation changes under certain circumstances. Specifically, TVA proposes to change the allocation of all or parts of 52 marginal strip parcels on TVA-managed public land from Zones 5 (Industrial/Commercial) or Zone 6 (Developed Recreation) to Zone 7 (Residential Access) on request from adjoining landowners having the necessary deeded access rights.

TVA completed environmental impact statements (EISs) and LMPs for TVA-managed land on Guntersville Reservoir (September 2001) and on Pickwick Reservoir (August 2002). Similarly, an environmental assessment (EA) and LMP for Norris Reservoir were completed in September 2001. All of the environmental reviews for the three LMPs state that additional environmental reviews would occur on a case-by-case basis when future changes to zone allocations are proposed. These reviews would be initiated when TVA considers requests for Section 26a approvals or land use actions. Furthermore, mitigation, such as the use of best management practices (BMPs) and the imposition of TVA’s General and Standard Conditions, as stipulated in the environmental reviews, would tend to decrease environmental impacts.

Norris Reservoir has 16 planned marginal strip parcels that front 25 back-lying sales tracts with deeded access rights across all or part of them comprising of approximately 326 acres of Zone 6 (Developed Recreation) land. TVA has determined that the potential environmental impacts of changing all or some of the allocation of 16 parcels on Norris Reservoir from Zone 6 (Developed Recreation) to Zone 7 (Residential Access) would not be a major federal action significantly affecting the environment. The environmental and project goals of the NRLMP would still be met. The previous Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) remains valid. See Reevaluated FONSI.